Muzeul Olteniei Craiova. Oltenia. Studii şi comunicări. Ştiinţele Naturii. Tom. 32, No. 2/2016 ISSN 1454-6914 THE ROLE OF ART, ABSTRACT THINCKING AND SOCIAL RELATIONS IN THE HUMAN EVOLUTION CORNEANU Mihaela, CORNEANU C. Gabriel Abstract. Before the appearance of Homo sapiens sapiens, some pre-human genotypes that lived on the Earth, left material evidence concerning different events of their social, behavioural or artistic manifestations. One of the earliest proofs is the use of objects from the environment as primitive tools to extract bone marrow, action probably achieved by a population of Australanthropus olteniensis in Romania (Tetoiu, Bugiuleşti, Oltenia, about 2,000,000 BC). Current studies show that pre-human species originated in the African Rift Valley, which provided optimum benefits to its evolution and diversity. Proto-oceanic environmental quality and diet (rich source of polyunsaturated long fibres) ensured brain development and human evolution. Several pre-human species (Homo habilis, H. naledi, H. erectus, etc.) emerged and lived in this area prior to their migration to other continents. Fire making and use, both for cooking and protection against weather and wildlife, was the essential factor for human evolution. Benefiting from the cooked food, pre-human beings had access to richer food resources, which led to the increase of the skeleton, and, implicitly, of the skull and encephalus. This made possible the development of practical utilities, followed by abstract utilities, such as thinking and intelligence. Sexual dimorphism, the presence of the gene FOX-P2 and the development of language, social and tribal life led to the arrangement of the living spaces, family. The increase of the skull and brain development contributed to the transition from practical activities (manufacture of weapons and tools) to abstract activities, development of art and intelligence. By abstract modelling of the materials from nature (rock, bone, ivory or wood) there were created statues, wall paintings, there appeared burial, cremation and embalming practices, which represented the germs of religion through the belief in the afterlife (in tombs, there were found food, personal items to be useful by the deceased persons at their return in another life). Keywords: pre-human populations, social relations, abstract thinking, artistic achievements, human evolution. Rezumat. Rolul artei, al gândirii abstracte şi al relaţiilor sociale în evoluţia omului. Înainte de apariţia speciei Homo sapiens sapiens, unele genotipuri pre-humane care au locuit pe Terra, au lăsat dovezi materiale privind manifestările lor sociale, comportamentale sau artistice. Una din cele mai vechi dovezi este utilizarea unor obiecte din mediul înconjurător drept unelte primitive pentru a extrage măduva osoasă hematogenă, acţiune realizată probabil de o populaţie de Australanthropus olteniensis, din România (Tetoiu, Bugiuleşti, Oltenia, c. 2.000.000 BCE). Studiile actuale arată că speciile pre-humane au originea în zona Marele Rift African, care a oferit avantaje optime pentru evoluţie şi diversitate. Calitatea mediului proto-oceanic şi a dietei (sursă bogată în fibre lungi polinesaturate), au asigurat dezvoltarea creierului şi evoluţia omului. Mai multe specii pre-humane (Homo habilis, H. naledi, H. erectus, ş.a.) au apărut şi au convieţuit în această zonă, înainte de migrarea lor în alte continente. Producerea şi utilizarea focului, atât pentru prepararea hranei, cât şi cu rol protector faţă de intemperii şi animalele sălbatice), a constituit un factor esenţial pentru evoluţia omului. Beneficiind de prelucrarea alimentelor prin gătit, fiinţele pre-humane au avut la dispoziţie resurse bogate de hrană, fapt care a condus la mărirea scheletului, implicit a cutiei craniene şi encefalului. Aceasta a făcut posibilă dezvoltarea utilităţilor practice, urmate de utilităţile abstracte, gândirea şi inteligenţa. Dimorfismul sexual, prezenţa genei FOX-P2 şi apariţia limbajului, viaţa social-tribală, au condus la amenajarea spaţiilor de locuit, familia. Mărirea cutiei craniene şi dezvoltarea encefalului au contribuit la trecerea de la activităţi practice utilitare (confecţionarea de arme şi unelte), la activităţi abstracte, dezvoltarea artei şi inteligenţei. Prin modelarea abstractă a unor materiale din natură (rocă, os, fildeş, sau lemn), au fost create statuete, picturi rupestre, au apărut practici de înhumare, incinerare şi îmbălsămare, care au reprezentat germenii religiei prin credinţa în viaţa de apoi (în morminte au fost găsite alimente, obiecte personale, pentru a fi utile decedaţilor la revenirea într-o altă viaţă). Cuvinte cheie: populaţii prehumane, relaţii sociale, gândirea abstractă, realizări artistice, evoluţia umană. INTRODUCTION Provision for descendants' development in optimal conditions. In the environment, there are numerous examples when parents manifest an interest for the descendants’ development. Thus, in numerous vertebrata with external fecundation, the female parent deposits a big amount of vitellus, which assures the development of the descendants. Moreover, in case of many species of fish, amphibia or reptilia, the male builds the place in which the female will assure the development of the descendants. The nest presents an attractive aspect and the female inspects it to see if it is adequately built. Some insect species (termites and others) present a social organization. They build really nurseries of fungi as food source for the descendants. Many other species make up the food resources and protect them from other species or individuals. Also, there are used different materials (stone, wood, ivory, etc. for the development of the descendants, as resources of food, useful matter). In many cases, these actions present a genetic determinism. There is also an evolution theory. Some species deposit the food which is in excess: birds and small mammals preserve food in different places (in the thorns of some shrubs or buried in the soil). Other species use different materials from the environment for obtaining food (bone or vegetal fragments, etc.). After LESTEL (2001), affirm that the cultural comportment not represent a feature specific for humans, being also present in many animals. 193 CORNEANU Mihaela CORNEANU C. Gabriel MATERIALS AND METHODS This synthesis was conducted based on information from the literature available by the end of 2015 on various features of the pre-human species, as well as on the geological and biochemical characteristics of the Great African Rift region. In the area of the Great Rift Valley, brain evolution was induced by two elements, namely the fresh water of the proto- oceanic environment (ecological elements) and a rich dietary source of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, both being involved in the evolution of the human brain (SEIFU, 2004; BEDNARIK, 2008). Gun (1998) considers that a prolonged access to a rich dietary source of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) was a central feature of the evolution of the human brain (BEDNARIK, 2008). Among the features of the pre-human species, there were collected information on the qualitative and quantitative involvement of a rich and diverse diet in the development of the skull and neurocranium; sexual dimorphism and social division of labour, which led to the family-tribal organization of the pre-human species; practical activities that brought firstly to the development of tools and weapons, and then to the emergence of abstract thinking and development of intelligence; the presence of the gene FOX-P2 and language developed the relationships between the members of pre-human species and strengthened their social relationships, etc. The development of abstract thinking led to the development of art (processing of the materials from the surroundings – rock, wood, bone, ivory) and the representation of the animals of interest, hunting scenes by preserving and transmitting the accumulated experience, representation of fecundity (women with a lower pelvis and big phallus in case of men), arrangement of the residential spaces and their spatial representation, burial ceremonial with religious elements, etc. An early burial ceremonial (a mother with her child), dating to about 90,000-100,000 years ago, was found in the cave Qafzeh of Nazareth (Israel). Bodies buried in the foetal position (crouching) or placed on one side, dated to 6,500 BC, were found in the tombs from Gumelniţa (ŞERBĂNESCU, 2000). RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS The Great Rift Valley and hominid evolution. The Rift Valley or the Great Rift Valley is a vast geographical and geological formation that extends for about 6,000 km on a north-south direction, from northern Syria (south-west of Asia) to the centre of Mozambique (East of Africa). The valley varies in width from 30 to 100 km, in depth from a few hundred to several thousand meters. It is created by the separation of the African and Arabian tectonic plates, which began 35 million years ago, and the separation of East Africa from the rest of Africa, process begun 15 million years ago (RING, 2014; Fig. 1). This area was a rich source of palaeo-anthropological discoveries, preserving human remains: bones of hominids, ancestors of human species (Sahelanthropus tchadensis, Ardipithecus ramidus, Australopithecus afarensis), the famous Lucy, which lives 3.2 million years ago, etc. The ecological conditions from the Great African Rift Valley offer optimal advantages for the evolution and diversity of the pre-human species. In the scientific literature,